At Jewson Live, we caught up with Ken Burrows, our Public Sector Director to find out what 2016 holds in store for social housing
How was 2015?
No one can deny that 2015 was a tough year for Registered Providers (RPs). New policies on rent reductions were announced which must be actioned from April this year, so we want to do as much as we can to help our social housing customers get the best value possible.
What ongoing challenges are you up against?
Everybody wants added value at a reduced cost, and you can only achieve this if you have good working relationships with customers and RPs. Cooperation is key, and it only works if everyone involved has the same end goal in mind.
The most important thing about any project is customer satisfaction, and this will always be our number one priority. It’s for this reason that we tailor what we offer to suit the needs of any customer, no matter how varied these requirements may be.
What’s the key to success in 2016?
The market is constantly changing and we’ll continue to find innovative ways of working that help us to serve our customers better. We already work very closely with our customers to help them meet their targets, and only with these close partnerships are we able to deliver the maximum benefit to a project.
We’re seeing a lot of RPs extending renewal programmes from three to five years and this has had an impact on buying habits. We’ve been working with them to balance price versus quality and value, helping them think more about the durability of products and the suitability for extended maintenance cycles.
What other projects are you involved in?
Jewson is very conscious of its place within local communities. As a large organisation, we do as much as we can to offer apprenticeships and opportunities locally, and we work with RPs where possible to achieve this. We also hope to make a positive difference to communities by supporting local projects. With one housing provider, for example, we helped to refurbish a day care centre to make it a better environment for those who use it day-in-day-out.
